Class Action Granted Against Poultry Firms
by December 22, 2003 12:00 am 74 views
On Dec. 11, a Mayes County, Okla., district court judge granted class action status to Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees property owners who claim waste from Tyson Foods Inc., Simmons Foods Inc., and Peterson Farms Inc., spilled into the northeastern Oklahoma lake and depreciated the value of their lakefront property.
Two separate certified classes, the plaintiffs attorneys said, were granted to all lakefront property owners on the Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. One portion of the suit asks that the companies fix the problem and clean the lake and the other portion seeks monetary damages for the impairment of the value of lakefront properties, the attorneys said. Allegations charge that the poultry firms caused environmental damage from discharges and waste runoff from their operations.
Tyson Foods said that it will “vigorously defend” the case and that there are hundreds of possible discharge sources that could run into the streams that feed the lake.